Performers Needed For MTV Music Awards

[scot]

The MTV New Orleans thing was great. The guy was a prick to me, so I turned it down, but some of my friends did it for I think $25. We watched it, they had very bad footage of themselves. There were man on the street contests like the old "Stick your head in a wheel barrel full of mustard and fish out the beads." The contestants won an average of $500.

Do I think the performers should be punished again for doing that gig? no. They should use that exposure as much as they can, because that's all they got out of it.

We are never going to be able to unionize. The people that can take advantage of these situations should.

I don't think it's that easy to tell a pro firedancer from an amature (eg).

[The Pretty Good]

ok so first off I agreed to do it for free. I figured it would be fun. And the stage was also taking over the pitch. So there probably were no shows that day. Unless you do a statue or something. Second I would never in a million years had the oppertunity to smash a cinder block on a persons stomach. I feel that I made the right choice I regret nothing. Iwent into it knowing I was not getting paid. And guess what, it was fun.

[le pire]

exposure...

How many times a month do you get a call from someone who wants you to do a gig for "exposure?" In my experience "exposure for exposure's sake" is completely worthless. It rarely leads to a paying gig, and even if someone "high profile" is there.

I did a charity gig for the American Lung Association several years ago, for exposure. The only calls I ever got from that gig were from other charities looking for a free entertainer.

Last year a Public TV station asked if I could perform at a little party for all their fundraiser volunteers. They had no budget and asked if I would donate my performance. I said I would, only if I was able to write this off as an in-kind donation AND I get all the freebies that they give donors at this level. I want the membership, the bumpersticker, the mozart collection, and the tote bag! They said yes to the tax write-off and no to the freebies. I said "No tote bag, no show!"

Scot points out that MTV was giving away $500 prizes to people. To which I ask, why not give them $200 and pay the performers?



etienne


p.s. merry christmas, hanakah, kwanza, and a solemn and respectful ramadan

[Chance]

Scot points out that MTV was giving away $500 prizes to people. To which I ask, why not give them $200 and pay the performers?

Therein lies the rub, as they say. Dive headfirst into a wheelbarrow filled with mustard and win big bucks; offer something cool with with 20 years experience behind it and get nada.

[scot]

It's a stupid question. The cash prize shows that they spent money. Everyone figures that they of course paid the performers too. They didn't have to pay the performers to get that entertainment value, but the cash was integril to th entertainment value of the mustard game. It's not that hard to figure out.

My other friend who is aftra and sag and everthing offered to perform on the show if they paid scale and they were thinking about it. So, they probably had the budget.

[le pire]

It was a RHETORICAL question, stupid.

Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?


etienne

[Chance]

stupid is as stupid does

I don't think Etienne's question was stupid. I think anyone falling for the MTV line is stupid. 500 bucks went into the mustard (et al) games, because otherwise it would have been much harder to talk someone into ruining their clothes (to say nothing of their dignity) for nothing more than a few seconds of prime time exposure. Getting experienced performance artists, who should definitely know better, to do so seems to be a piece of cake for these guys, however. Sure they had the budget, Scot; this is precisely MY POINT: they had the entertainment budget! And if the variety artists had unionized for that week, they, us, we, would have all been paid. Instead, they got the footage, the town drunks got the pay off, and the good guys got the brush off -- and the last 5,000 bucks of the entertainment budget went right up the producers (and Britney's and Gwen's) nose.

[jester]

I am the worlds most shameless self publicist. And I wouldn't have done it.